2011-12 Oklahoma Arts Preview

Oklahoma’s arts groups, organizations and venues have the state covered and booked through the late spring.

American Theatre Company

ATC begins its 42nd season with The Full Monty, Oct. 21-29, in which a group of steel workers put on a ladies-only strip show. Men show their insecurities, and possibly more.Also: Fully Committed, Dec. 2-10; A Christmas Carol, Dec. 8-23; The Bomb-itty of Errors, March 2-10; Lombardi, May 11-19. www.americantheatrecompany.org

Broadway in Bartlesville

The finest of Broadway shows return to the Bartlesville Community Center in the series, which this season features golden paths, love in paradise and a new musical just wrapping its Broadway run.In the Heights, the 2008 Tony Award-winning musical, shows a Manhattan community bracing for change with exciting music and dance numbers. The tour stops for one performance March 11.Also: The Wizard of Oz, Nov. 15; South Pacific, Jan. 17; Damn Yankees, March 27; Cirque: Pop Goes the Rock, April 20.www.bartlesvillecommunitycenter.com

Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center

What a beginning – Broken Arrow’s first show of the season comes straight from the halls of artistic excellence. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis, Sept. 29, not only highlights one of the most famous trumpeters in the world, but also builds the reputation of this new local arts center.Also: Cirque Mechanics: Boom Town, Oct. 27; Ernie Haas & Signature Sound, Dec. 17; Elvis Lives – The Ultimate Elvis Tribute, Jan. 31; Blast!, Feb. 26; In the Heights, March 10; In the Mood, April 2012. www.thepacba.com

Celebrity Attractions

Once again, Celebrity Attractions brings Broadway excellence to Oklahoma. We’re looking forward to a new musical adaptation, The Addams Family, based on the cult TV favorite, and the crowd-pleaser Jersey Boys, which tells the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Look for shows at Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center and at the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.Tulsa: Memphis, Nov. 1-6; The Addams Family, Jan. 24-29; Stomp, March 6-11; Fiddler on the Roof, May 8-13; Jersey Boys, June 6-24.Oklahoma City: Memphis, Nov. 8-13; The Addams Family, Jan. 17-22; Mamma Mia!, Feb. 15-18; Stomp, March 13-18; Fiddler on the Roof, May 1-6. www.celebrityattractions.com

Chamber Music Tulsa

Bringing the best chamber music ensembles to town requires serious focus and a stellar reputation for excellence and appreciation. This season is no different as CMT welcomes the Imani Winds, considered North America’s leading wind quintet, to Tulsa Oct. 1-2.Also: Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Nov. 5-6; Miró Quartet, Jan. 28-29; Trio Solisti – Feb. 18-19; American String Quartet, March 17-18; Aviv Quartet, April 14-15. www.chambermusictulsa.org

Choregus Productions

For an organization that has been around but for a few years, Choregus Productions remains as committed as ever to bringing performances of the highest caliber to Tulsa.South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Jan. 22, is booked to bring music tradition and spiritual alchemy to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. A month later, look for The Original Tribute to the Blues Brothers, March 17, featuring original cast members from London’s West End run production bringing moments and songs from the classic comedy film.Also: Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Sept. 16-17; Time for Three, Nov. 5; Keigwin + Company, Nov. 18-19 (dance); Mark Morris Dance Group, Feb. 3-4; Batsheva Dance Company, March 15; Music of the Son: ETHEL with Robert Mirabal, April 28; Diavolo, May 19. www.choregus.org

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

Norman’s been waiting since 2007, and the new Stuart Wing – future home to the Eugene B. Adkins Collection of fine art works – is almost ready for the public. The big celebration is set for Oct. 23 from noon-5 p.m. Also on that day, look for reinstallation of the Permanent Collection of Western and Native American art, the icons from the Permanent Collection and No Heaven Awaits Us: Contemporary Chinese Photography & Video.

Also:Rauschenberg: Prints from Universal Limited Arts Editions, 1962-2008, Sept. 24-Dec. 30; Highlights from the Permanent Collection of Photography, Part I, Jan. 27-April 29; A Century of Magic: The Animation of Walt Disney Studios, March 2-Sept. 16, 2012; Oklahoma Clay: Frankoma Pottery, April 20-Sept. 16, 2012; Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, May 13-Sept. 16, 2012. www.ou.edu/content/fjjma

Gilcrease Museum

What would Woody Guthrie have thought of the world today? We’ll never know, yet the simple, plain message he heralded in the 1940s reverberates in the time of overt political spin and rampant celebrity excess. This Land is Your Land: Woody Guthrie at 100, Feb. 5-June 3, coincides with a national salute to the "Dust Bowl Troubadour" beginning with the Grammy Awards in March.

Also: Continuation of To Capture the Sun: Gold of Ancient Panama, thru Jan. 15; America: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of the Nation, thru Jan. 2; Discover the Real George Washington: New Views from Mount Vernon, June 24-Sept. 23. www.gilcrease.org

Heller Theatre

Henthorne Performing Arts Center continues to illuminate as the resident Heller Theatre begins work on a new season that includes the contemporary work it’s well known for doing plus challenging, transcendent works, such as Bertold Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle, Jan. 27-Feb. 4.

Living Arts of Tulsa

Watch for this glimpse into the future of art – Momentum: Art Doesn’t Stand Still features the work by Oklahoma artists 30 years and younger in film, performance and a variety of media. This Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition event opens in grand style Oct. 8 with a reception but stays open through Oct. 26.

Mabee Center

The season is upon us, yes, even before Thanksgiving has been crossed off the calendar. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, Nov. 17, comes to the Mabee Center and brings plenty of acclaim with it, but audiences who love the traditional telling are sure to enjoy the lavish costumes, sets and dancing. www.mabeecenter.com

National Cowboy & Western Heritage

What do you get when you combine the opening weekend for the Cowboy Artists of America 46th Annual Exhibition and Sale (Oct. 14-Nov. 27), with the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association 13th Annual Exhibition (Oct. 14-Jan. 8)? You get Cowboy Crossings, Oct. 14-15, an uncompromising collection of fine Western art in one location.

Odeum Theatre Company

This original Tulsa theater group pushes to get contemporary and sometimes startling treasures to its audience. Last year, for instance, saw Tracy Letts’ Bug, Patrick Marber’s After Miss Julie and Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Pretty. In November, the gang gets cozy with It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, adapted to the stage by Joe Landry. Odeum will tour the show in Tulsa and through other parts of the state Nov. 18-Dec. 23.Also:She Stoops to Conquer, Spring 2012; Alice & Dorothy, Summer 2012. www.odeumtheatrecompany.com

Oklahoma City Ballet

The 40th anniversary season of Oklahoma City Ballet promises a series of holiday tradition, romantic comedy and enchantment, but the stand-out production is sure to be The Firebird, Feb. 11-12, set to Stravinsky’s powerful composition. The piece accompanies the world premiere of In Between Dreams.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Franco Mondini-Ruiz and his works have been called clever, nostalgic and exploratory of conceptions of art. Decide for yourself with the installation of more than 1,000 paintings of whimsical objects in Poodles and Pastries – and Other Important Matters, Sept. 8-Dec. 31.

Oklahoma City Philharmonic

Once again, the OKC Phil has outdone itself with a schedule of splendor booked through Spring 2012. Be sure to watch the classics series’ big Season Finale, May 19, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, considered one of the world’s best pianists and a special Nov. 3 concert when rock musician Ben Folds joins the Phil for a sophisticated jam session.

Oklahoma City Theatre Co.

The OKC group knows how to give its audience variety – a drama of the break-up of the nuclear family (Buried Child) is rarely followed by a light-hearted holiday comedy affirming it (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever). The Native American Play Festival, however, becomes an automatic stand-out for launching new works by rarely heard voices. Watch for it June 1-10 when Diane Glancy’s Salvage anchors the 2012 event.

Philbrook Museum of Art

The exhibit Rauschenberg at Gemini concludes Sept. 11, but Philbrook has more to offer in the months ahead, including a look at Southwest life and art. Black on Black & White: The Southwest of Laura Gilpin and Maria Martinez, Feb. 5-April 15, will exhibit Gilpin’s introspective photography along with Martinez’ signature Pueblo ceramic works.

Also:War and Rumors of War: Combat and Commemoration in Native Art, through Oct. 9; Magnificent Vision: Two Centuries of European Masterworks from the Speed Art Museum, Oct. 9-Jan. 8; About Face: Crafting the Modern Portrait, Oct. 16-Jan. 1; The Sinuous Line: Jacques Callot and the Rebirth of Printmaking in Early-Modern France, Jan. 8-April 8; Seeking the Sacred: Religious Ritual in Native American Art, April 1-June 3; This Great Land: Contemporary America on Paper, April 15-July 8. www.philbrook.org

Playhouse Tulsa

The company just won top honors from TATE (Tulsa Awards for Theatre Excellence) for a stellar Macbeth last season. The new season, to us, looks like a stand out, as well: The Origins Project, Oct. 4-9; The Storm Repertory: William and Judith and The Tempest, Feb. 10-19; Urinetown, April 17-22; The Unmentionables, May 6-13. www.playhousetheatretulsa.com

Price Tower Arts Center

Swedish-American architect and designer Greta Magnusson Grossman set up shop during the Golden Age of Hollywood to design for Greta Garbo, Joan Fontaine and other celebrities. When she arrived, she said she would need a “car and some shorts” to fit in. The late designer’s concept of American living is the title of an upcoming exhibit at Bartlesville’s Price Tower Arts Center. Greta Magnusson Grossman: A Car and Some Shorts runs Jan. 20-May 6.Also: look for From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden, May 18-Sept. 2, 2012, which looks at the prolific artist’s work in a variety of media. www.pricetower.org

Signature Symphony

Prominent musicians join the symphony in a season giving patrons the Manhattan Transfer on Jan. 21 plus a dinner and concert event, Titanic: The 100th Anniversary. First experience sumptuous dining (April 13) and hear a musical salute to the people aboard on April 14.

Theatre Tulsa

Sure, Urinetown, Sept. 16-24, has been done before, but it’ll be interesting to see how the oldest community theater group west of the Mississippi River stages this irreverent comedy of the God-given right to use the loo – without paying a toll.

Tulsa Ballet

Whether its classic or modern, Tulsa Ballet is always contemporary in its approach to dance, meaning stories such as Romeo and Juliet are as timeless as ever in a world premiere event (Feb. 23-25) choreographed by Edwaard Liang.

Tulsa Opera

It’s a theater show. It’s a music hall performance. With Tulsa Opera, you get both in addition to a wonderful time spent with other opera fans ready to shout, “bravo!” Oklahoma’s favorite soprano Sarah Coburn opens the season in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Oct. 8, 14, 16.

Tulsa Performing Arts Center

As if there wasn’t enough happening at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center with resident arts groups, the PAC and the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust bring in an array of special guests to play T-Town. Steve Martin will be on stage Aug. 24, with his banjo, some awesome musicians and, we hope, a few punch lines. Steve Martin: An Evening of Bluegrass and Banjo kicks off the season.Also: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, Sept. 30-Oct. 1; The Borrowers, Nov. 4-5; An Evening with Buddy Valastro: The Cake Boss, Nov. 8; Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood: Two Man Group, Nov. 19; Tinkle, Twonkle, March 23-24; Are You My Mother?, April 20-21; Zorro, April 27-28. www.tulsapac.com

Tulsa Symphony Orchestra

Most know the Tulsa Symphony has the classics covered, but look closer, and you’ll see much more.